Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-08-20
LIFE AMONG THE MEX'CANs!.
THE GOVERNMENT IN The LIVERY
STABLE BUSINESS.
Funerals by Horse, car-Pantheons
and Burial Customs-A Queer
Fair for the Dead"

Especial Correspondence of the REcoRD-UNIoS.l
MrxIco, August 10, 1887.
In this country the livery-stable bslsi-
ness is conducted on scale of zluch
greater magEiGcence than ever at the
North. The patrons thereof, being all of
one class-the extremely wealthy, who are
as fond of display as they are vain and
proud--eftertain the utmost contempt for
cheap things, and insist upon the very
finest eauipages. Not only must the car
riage be upholstered in silk satin and
plush, with plenty of plate-glass and gold
or silver trimmings, but the driver and
ieotman who accompany it must be arrayed
| liz livery more gorgeous than was ever seen
or the other side of the Rio Grande
OF course these nabobs have carriages of
| their own, and liyeried servants Gd mini
| t,sa, and condeseend to hired conveyances
only when away from home or to meet
the exigencies OF too much company. 1t
is not uncommon among the creme de la
creme of the Mexican capital for one fam
| lily to own half dozen or more tnrnouts Of
various styles each with its especial driver
and footman in Observation-Disclosures These
great casos, which frequently house reg
ular family of 40 or 50 persons-not in
Guiding servants-offer hospitality on the
same generous scale, and are often crowded
| with company" Then the livery stables
languor nobody walks, you know, but poor
| folks and plebian Americans; and the IA
yorite amusement, as well as most impera-
/ 4 Il 1,,N, Al i
| fashionable boulevard
Fortunate, indeed, is the foreigner who
| finds himself the honored guest of some
hidalgo belonging to the first families
Of this miscalled Republic. Royalty could
scarcely do more for him in the line of
sumptuous entertainment; and though to
that end the shekels flow like water, he
need feel no computations of conscience,
for the extravagant habits of the host and
his class in thus dispensing the circu-
iating medium" which they possess in
unsquanderable quantities. alone keeps the
majority from actual starvation.
Speaking Of munificent hospitality, am
reminded of the famous Count de Regla-
Senior Don Pedro Romero de Terreros-
old-time Mexican bonanza king. Until
he happened to "strike it rich in silver
mining he was plain Peter Torreros, with
an accent i'll his speech which spoke
strongly Of the Emerald Isle When by a
fortunate accident he suddenly found him
self to rich too compute his income, he
abandoned his humble shop and launched
out into extravagances which furnished his
neighbors with more fables than Croesus of
old.
| / think 1t was in the year 1862 that he
reached the hight of wonderful fortune,
thorough the Santa Brigade shaft of the
Real del Monte mine About this time
his son, the last Count, was christened :;
and to fifty celebrate the event, Don Pedro
had the path between his house and the
church Ia considerable distance) paved
| with bars of solid silver, over which the
party walked
His worthy wife-whom rumor said had
! erst been seen contentedly laying the
| family linen-now waxed so aristocratic
| that the earth could scarcely hold her.
| When first blossomed into the Countess de
Terreros, she proceeded to quarrel with and
cut y the vice-queen, who, as representa-
tive direct Of Spanish royalty, had long
| received the AFFECT homage of everything
Mexican. Later, desiring to placate her
Highness Tor, perhaps, to humble her pride
still further), the Countess sent her costly
ollve-branch in the shape of a slipper, en-
tlrely covered with the most magnificent
diamonds, its toe stuffed full of pearls and
emeralds-a neat little bauble, worth a mill
| ion or so, with which to amuse a summers
morning.
That same year the Count de Regla in
vited the King of Spain to visit his Mex
lean possessions, as his (the Count's) guest,
and assured him, by way of inducement,
| that the feet of his Majesty and all his
1 train, and even the hoofs of his horses.
| shall tread upon nothing more base than
ingots of solid silver all the way from
Vera Cruz harbor to the City of Mexico
(about 264 miles; that his roval feet
should not touch the ground during all his
st@y in the New World, but always preci-
Gus metal that every room in which he
lodged should be rooted and walled with
silver, and every dish and utensil used bv
himself should be of purest gold.
Whether the King looked upon this
munificent offer as mere braggadocio | do
not know; at any rate he did not come.
but soon put the de Regla wealth to proof
by requesting the loan of few million
pesos-which, it is needless to add. were
never returned The undaunted Count
followed up this gift by causing to be built.
at his own expense, In Havana, two ships
of the line, of largest tonnage-all of
richest mahogany and cedar-which he
| presented to the sovereign.
But to return to our subject. Besides
the livery stables-which are confined to
the largest cities where families of great
wealth reside-there are in every Mexican
I hoaI-,
rias, barouches, etc, which are really
owned and run by the Government, and
whose price is fixed by law. TO secure
them you do not send to stable-for no.
body seems to know where they are kept
but look for them in the streets. In the
capital alone there are go of these public
conveyances, ranking officially as those of
the first, second, third and fourth class.
Their "class" is distinguished by small tin
signs, in the form of flag, stuck ND in
front-those of the first class painted
green, the second blue, third red and the
fourth white. Their legalized tariff is re-
spectlvely -, 81, 70 cents and so cents per
hour, except before 6 A. NJ and after 10
P. NJ, and on Sundays and all feast DAYS.
when the price is doubled; and as festas
are of everyday occurrence, one may safely
calculate upon what to pay. Most of them
are dilapidated old rattle-traps, in immi
nent peril of going to pieces on these
wretched pavements, like the deacon's one
horse chaise, and as rule there is little
difference IN them except in the color of
the flag With customary pride, Ameri-
cans usually insist upon the most es pen
siye-foolishly, however, for the flag is i'm
mediately hauled down as soon as the
vehicle is engaged, and nobody can guess
what you pay for it
Besides the coachman, each carriage fur
nlshes footman without additional
charge, though the proper thing is to give
the unbargained-for appendage shilling.
The footman is called a mo=o, and acts as a
sort of apprentice or private secretary to
the eoehero, or driver. On entering vehi
Gle, the passenger who does not wish to be
swindled should request of the driver his
botao, or ticket, upon which is printed the
number of the carriage and its lawful
tariff Then the mozo rushes off to the
nearest clock, and brings you a card upon
which the hour Is written Az fl;s -.